One Awesome Korean

Tonight I took Sparkle Motion out for our nightly bike ride but this time instead of riding around the more urban area of Sinsa/Apgujeong, I decided to take her down to the Han River. Great night for a ride, the skies were clear and you could see the lights of the city clearly. We also ran into a walk-through tunnel filled with amazing graffiti. Here's some images from our adventure! Enjoy!

So my birthday is tomorrow and I thought, what better way to end my 25th year than with a little video post for all of my friends and family back in the States (and elsewhere around the world)! Giving another little bit of insight to my life here in the motherland, I present you with Garuso-gil. Garuso-gil is one of the more famous streets in Korea and is located between Sinsa and Apgujeong which makes it one of the ritzier locations in Seoul. The street's lined with trees and there's constantly people walking, talking, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to talk or shop, etc. From the plethora of restaurants and coffee shops it's really no wonder why it's one of the more popular places for people to congregate in. The one thing about Garuso-gil is that while it is really nice, it's also very expensive. A cup of coffee here will run you 6,000+ KRW (about $5.50) and the meals aren't that cheap either. But again, you pay a price for luxury. Some places have great drinks, food, clothes, whatever it may be that they cater to. Others are just expensive because of location and because they can charge that much. Sometimes you can feel a little "unworthy" as many people flock to the street to be noticed when looking hip, trendy, and/or fancy. But for the most part, I really don't care when I walk along the streets in my shorts and t-shirt and sneakers. Enjoy the video!

My co-worker Dave or 데이브 as he's known in Korea, recently won a Starbucks Event prize in the last lottery drawing and he got a whole bag full of cups, mugs, drinking devices, whatever you want to call them. Personally, I love the bag itself but the cups are still a great prize! He was even kind of enough to share his good fortune with a few of us in the office so high five to new Starbucks travel mugs! Enjoy the pictures! More on Dave's Flickr page here.

Today I took a walk around Apgujeong which is one of the more upscale neighborhoods/districts of Seoul. On my little walk I found an adorable little café/restaurant called Julie & James which lured me in with the chalkboard sign reading, "Brunch from 11:30-15:30". The cute country house style that Julie  & James is style after made for a very comfortable atmosphere for me to enjoy my first ever Korean B.L.T. (No mayo on this one, just a tasty mustard) with a side salad and freshly squeezed orange juice. The price was a little high (9,000 KRW for the set but that's not so bad) but the overall taste was great. Presentation of course was executed well since that's one area that Korea seems to pride itself on. If you ever get the chance, I'd recommend visiting Julie & James. It's in Apgujeong just a little past their wannabe Rodeo Drive.

 

My 언니 gave me a 시계, Premium Casio G Shock! Balla, because that's how I roll... In other news I learned the Korean word for "imitation". It's 짝퉁 (Jjacktoong!).

I'm so ready for lunch. Seriously... Bring it on!

Nice little apron brought to you by the kind folks at 새마을 식당 so that you don't get your clothes icky with kimchi :)

Photo Credit: Dave Jansen / @hellodeibu

Farewell Dinner

Korean Bowling!

Yesterday I went to Lotte world with my buddy Dave and our two friends from Starbucks, Nana and Simji. Lotte World is a minified version of Disney World yet there's no Mickey Mouse, instead there's Lotty the Raccoon. It combines both an indoor and outdoor amusement park and has one of the better amusement park parades that I've ever seen. It was the first time I'd been there and was able to ride on the attractions in the outside area, and it was awesome! We all rode on the Gyroscope which is a bunch of swings that rotate in a circle while swinging like a pendulum from side to side. Before we rode it Dave said, "You feel like you're flying!" And you really do! The view was amazing. From the high points you can see all around you, and since it's rotating in a circle as well, you get to see EVERYTHING! I wish I could have taken photos while riding it. The other rides were your standard amusement park rides with different names, The Bungee Drop, Comet Express, The Pirate Ship (real original), the Flume (bet you can't guess what that is! :P) but it was still a great time. Simji and I also got Nekko (Cat) Phone charms. According to the pamphlet mine is one of the three brothers and her's is the girl kitten who likes to come over and play... yeah go figure. Of course mine had to be the boy cat. Anyways.. Enjoy the photos!

Took some quick photo booth pics with my co-worker Lizzy/Ji Youn today during popsicle snack time. She's one of my favorites! Enjoy!